You are currently viewing A Sad Story of Numb by Linkin Park! Numb Lyrics Meaning

A Sad Story of Numb by Linkin Park! Numb Lyrics Meaning

Laviasco
FOLLOW US

Linkin Park – Numb Lyrics Meaning

The meaning behind the lyrics of the song ‘Numb’ is cold.  is the thirteenth track recorded by American rock band Linkin Park, for their second studio album “Meteora (2003)”.

This is the first English song I had ever listened to. So, taking suicide of one of the best vocalists, Chester Charles Bennington, as a consideration and of course this band being my startup in English music, this is my tribute to him and I’m going to explain the meaning behind the lyrics of Numb. Let’s get started.

[Verse 1, Part I: Chester Bennington]

These two lines are pretty much everything. These lines are the exact representations of depression. We always try to impress other people and we expect something from them. But later on, if we don’t get what we expect, we start feeling low, we start disrespecting ourselves, we start to feel ugly, we start to blame ourselves and all.

We give our heart and soul to fit in and to be the exact person that someone wants us to be and then we lose our faith in ourselves. We forget who we are and we often tend to blame other people for trying to change us but in reality, they’re just manipulating us to use us. We are trying to change ourselves and if we ought to blame anyone for anything then we should be blaming ourselves because we are the ones trying to fit in.

[Verse 1, Part II: Chester Bennington]

We all crave attention from people we like or literally from people we want in our lives and so as to gain his/her attention, we tend to believe in whatever that particular person has got to say even if we know its mean by our hearts but we don’t want to lose him/her and we kind of say “yes” in everything. We would have no idea why that person who used to ignore us and was mean is being nice to us all of a sudden.

We would have no idea what they’ve been cooking inside their minds for us but as we go on saying “yes” for everything and later there comes one point in our lives when that person returns to his initial stance with our relationship. S/he is mean again and s/he is ignoring again and we wouldn’t even realize that we are inside the bubble created by his/her scheduled and planned “good guy/girl” and “caring” reputation. Then we go mad, we cry, we get depressed, we feel hurt, we feel abused and we feel that pressure of his/her feet literally walking over our soul with no mercy like ALL the time.

[Pre-Chorus: Chester Bennington & Mike Shinoda]

There’s a dark undertow, let’s say a hole of the feeling of loss and feeling of remorse after we get unannounced “ignore” and “mean” stance of relationship. But even if we are actually hurt, we still expect that person to be in our lives. We talk nice about that person, we don’t want to hurt him/her. We still try our best to get the person who was a “good guy/girl” and “caring” but every time we try to impress them they tend to push us as far away as possible and that hurts like crazy!

[Chorus: Chester Bennington]

Our body tends to feel sad constantly, we don’t feel anything around us. Our brain is particularly obsessed with how to get that person back and how to get loved by him/her. We feel tired, we feel helpless, we feel like there is nobody for us and we just feel void, empty, the dark carousel of constant sadness, aka mental illness, i.e. famously called DEPRESSION! We try our best to be ourselves and we read articles on WikiHow about “How to forget someone”, we take BuzzFeed quizzes about “Am I depressed?” but even if we try our best to get out of that enclosed bubble of his/her fake stance with us, we cannot come out.

We are still under his/her influence, we still want him/her and we cannot control our thoughts of there is nobody for me and nobody cares about me. This is the stage where most of the people take their own lives and I won’t say it is cruel because some people just can’t help it. They want to get rid of these voices inside their heads and I don’t want people who are alive to judge people who have taken their own lives as suicidal thoughts are insane and as those people didn’t try to fix him/her when s/he was alive, thus they have no rights at all to criticize about their deaths.

[Verse 2, Part I: Chester Bennington]

We feel suffocated, we feel isolated, and we feel like everyone is happy without us. We try to show what pain we’ve been inflicting at the moment and what we’ve been going through to that same person expecting remorse and forgiveness for no mistakes of ours whatsoever. We break down, we cry, we hurt ourselves to prove him/her that we weren’t faking it. But s/he wouldn’t care, nope not at all. Like seriously, how can people be this cruel and how can they break hearts so easily?

[Verse 2, Part II: Chester Bennington]

Even though there are no mistakes of ours, or maybe we made mistakes and even though we don’t realize our mistakes, we just don’t blame him/her for leaving us in that situation. We still blame ourselves like “I couldn’t be what you had always wanted me to be. What should I do to be yours? I know I’ve disappointed you (Even if we’ve no idea how). Please, I want to be yours, I don’t want to lose you, it’s not that I don’t want to lose you, I CANNOT LOSE YOU. (sad emoji) (cry emoji)”. S/he would give “seen” or text “K” and go.

[Pre-Chorus: Chester Bennington & Mike Shinoda]

Now as we were expecting that person to be back in our lives because we just tried to manipulate him/her emotionally so selflessly to own him/her and to fill the hole created by his/her fake friendly stance, we still get ignored. Now at this moment, we feel angry, we feel like we aren’t his/her toys to get played whenever they wanted to play with us. We feel like s/he must apologize to us and we feel like, “I can’t stand this anymore. I deserve respect and I deserve love and oh yeah, I’m worth getting respect and love honey.”

[Chorus: Chester Bennington]

[Bridge: Chester Bennington]

The meaning behind the lyrics of Numb takes a dark turn here. This is the point we begin to overthink. While we’re overthinking, we still blame ourselves even though we’ve just said: “I can’t take it anymore.” We still try to be nice to him/her. We still tell him/her “I know what you must have been feeling. I know our differences but I know you feel for someone. You are just sad and disappointed like I’m on you for someone else and I totally get that.

I’m sorry for forcing you to be with me and I’m so sorry that I said I can’t stand you the day before.” and s/he says “I don’t feel, okay? I don’t feel anything, I don’t have anyone in my pockets and I don’t want anyone.“ and then you start crying because you’ve been trying to be in his/her pockets and s/he says s/he has nobody for him/her and s/he doesn’t want anyone. Then we break down, we explode, we feel dead, we feel like dying, we feel like getting cremated alive and it’s not okay at all.

[Chorus: Chester Bennington]

[Outro: Chester Bennington]

Click here to play Numb by Linkin Park on YouTube:

Laviasco

Laviasco is an entertainment website run by a single person, the Admin himself, Mr. Suraj Marahatta, from research to blogging to website maintenance. Here, I have been providing the meaning of the lyrics of the songs little by little since 2019. My goal is to provide authentic sources for the facts and stay up-to-date.

This Post Has 17 Comments

  1. Pamela

    My x- bf sent me this song. Should i be be worried he might need help of some kind.? he broke up with me.
    I tried to talk to him and ask if we could try to fix what is wrong with our relationship but he said he did not think
    it would change for the better.
    I feel he is a very sad guy My heart goes out to him . Ofc i do love him

    1. Laviasco

      i think he might be sharing the song cause he likes it. but on the other hand, people share music they love cause it speaks to them. so, maybe observe his behaviours as opposed to directly asking him “what’s wrong”

  2. Lana

    I am not sure if you talking about your bad experience in love or about this song.I would say that he singing about relationship parents-child. When parent has big expectations from the kid and they want that kid is exactly like them. That is why in the song he says: I’m becoming this
    ”All I want to do
    Is be more like me
    And be less like you
    And I know
    I may end up failing too
    But I know
    You were just like me with someone disappointed in you”
    He is sayin that his parent was same like him and that their parents were also disappointed-which made them who they are now. He don’t want to become them and make same mistake with his child,but he know he could also fail..

    1. Rayane

      My parents want and expect too much of me can you give me som advice?

    2. Rayane

      Like how to tell them what I actually feel without making them mad

    3. Rayane

      Can you help me my parents want and expect too much of me can you tell me how I can tell them how I feel without making them mad. Because I feel like I am in a cage and am feeling like I am suffocating because they have to many rules put on my shoulders and too many expectation like if I don’t do something right they will ground me I feel so angered or upset but I hide it and I can’t think straight all the time because I am stuck up. I feel down I feel like I will explode but I can’t because I have to contain myself I feel so upset I can’t shake myself free can you give me some advice??

    4. Rayane

      I have parents that expect too much and want too much of me I feel so stressed out I can’t even think straight anymore and all I want to do is be stress free. People don’t know how much pressure is put on my shoulders I act like I am okay but I know I am not and I don’t want to be like this any more can you give me some advice?.

    5. Laviasco

      i was expressing my own emotions with this article about “Numb” by Linkin Park. It was the reason why I started this blog. But it was four years ago, I think I am good now.

  3. Rayane

    I am going through the literal same thing my parents want to much and expect to much of me.

    1. Laviasco

      I tried emailing you but your email address is wrong

      – author of the article

  4. Rayane

    I hate it I feel like I am in a cage that is suffocating me.

  5. Rayane

    My parents want to much and expect to much of me.

    1. J’Rose

      Breath girl you said the same things over and over. This is a late reply I know but try colouring or do a puzzle or draw. Enjoy life at school have the most fun you can at school don’t let other things get to you okay.

    2. J’Rose

      Colour or enjoy life more than your thoughts at home.

  6. J’Rose

    Rayane if your parents expect too much of you what you can do is try to do some colouring, drawing, or do a puzzle or go to someone that won’t tell no one and also make it someone you can trust. And tell them your feelings try and sit back and relax a little. Do things on time I know I have parents that also expect a lot from me but I have to listen. I mess up a lot so I am not the one to be telling others what to do but it is just a little advice for you. Breath don’t think too much about your stuck up life inside of you focus more on having fun when your away it clears the head of any anger or stress so you can think easier. Then you can deal with the parents have fun with friends and try not to get into too much trouble like me okay.

  7. Rayane

    Thank you!

    1. Laviasco

      i tried emailing you but your email address was not found Rayane.

Leave a Reply